Chart Beat
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Beéle checks off a career milestone this week as he bags his first No. 1 on a Billboard chart with “Vagabundo,” a co-billed song with Sebastian Yatra and Manuel Turizo. The song rises 7-1 to crown the Latin Airplay chart dated Sept. 2. “Vagabundo” climbs with 34% gain in audience impressions, to 9.2 million, earned in the U.S. in […]
Billboard looks back and counts down the top five songs that ruled the summer of 2022. Rania Aniftos:We’ve made it to the last week before our big reveal. What were the big songs of the summer last year? Let’s dive right into our top five. Coming in at No. 5: a song that had a […]
Foo Fighters extend their record for the most top 10s in the history of Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart, as “Under You” jumps into the top 10 of the Sept. 2-dated list.
The song leaps from No. 12 to No. 8 to become the Dave Grohl-led band’s milestone 30th top 10.
That’s the most accumulated on the chart dating to the list’s September 1988 inception, by two over the next closest act, Red Hot Chili Peppers, with 28.
Most Top 10s, Alternative Airplay
30, Foo Fighters
28, Red Hot Chili Peppers
24, Green Day
23, U2
21, Weezer
19, Pearl Jam
18, Linkin Park
18, The Offspring
17, Muse
17, The Smashing Pumpkins
Foo Fighters first hit the Alternative Airplay top 10 with their first entry, “This Is a Call,” which hit No. 2 in August 1995. The band is currently riding a streak of six top 10s in a row, dating to the No. 10-peaking “Shame Shame” in December 2020.
“Under You” predecessor single “Rescued” reigned for 10 weeks beginning in May, marking Foo Fighters’ 11th No. 1.
Concurrently, “Under You” rises 17-11 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, where the band will break out of a tie with Shinedown for the most top 10s in that chart’s history should it rise at least one spot higher; each group currently has 30. The song also debuts at No. 29 on Adult Alternative Airplay.
On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, “Under You” shoots 6-2 with 4.9 million audience impressions Aug. 18-24, up 28%, according to Luminate. Upon its ascent into the top 10, it gave Foo Fighters sole possession of the most top 10s in that survey’s archives, with 16.
“Under You” also lifts 12-11 on the multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs tally. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 378,000 official U.S. streams in the tracking week.
The song is the second single from But Here We Are, Foo Fighters’ 11th studio set, which debuted at No. 1 on the Top Alternative Albums chart in June and has earned 125,000 equivalent album units to date.
Rod Wave captures his second top 10 this year on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Call Your Friends” debuts at No. 7 on the list dated Sept. 2. The track, released on Alamo Records, will appear on the rapper’s forthcoming album, Nostalgia, due Sept. 15.
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In its debut tracking week of Aug. 18-24, “Call Your Friends” registered 13.9 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, prompting a No. 4 start on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. Streams virtually power the entire debut on the multimetric chart, with a negligible amount of track sales and 2,000 radio audience impressions also in the mix. (For scale, the cutoff of this week’s 50-position R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay is 142,000 impressions, though, “Call Your Friends” is not being actively worked and promoted to radio stations as a single. The rapper’s prior release, “Fight the Feeling,” is the radio focus.)
With “Call Your Friends,” Rod Wave adds his eighth career top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and maintains his consistency, having hit the region each year since 2020. Here’s a recap of his top-10 collection:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Rod Wave), Peak Position, Peak Date
“Rags2Riches,” featuring ATR Son Son, No. 7, Aug. 22, 2020
“Tombstone,” No. 5, April 10, 2021
“Street Runner,” No. 9, April 10, 2021
“By Your Side,” No. 10, Dec. 11, 2021
“Cold December,” No. 9, Feb. 5, 2022
“Alone,” No. 7, Aug. 27, 2022
“Fight the Feeling,” No. 7, April 15, 2023
“Call Your Friends,” No. 7, Sept. 2, 2023
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Elsewhere, “Call Your Friends” launches at No. 6 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and is the week’s highest debut on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, at No. 26.
Nostalgia looks to extend Rod Wave’s top-10 streak on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, now at five consecutive projects. The run began with Ghetto Gospel (No. 10 in 2018) and followed with Pray 4 Love (No. 2, 2019); SoulFly (No. 1, 2021); Beautiful Mind (No. 1, 2022) and Jupiter’s Diary: 7 Day Theory (No. 9, 2022).
Billboard Boxscore has been tracking touring data and ranking the top live acts around the world across various musical genres since the mid-1980s. Classic rock bands, country troubadours and pop icons have long dominated these lists, but in recent years, Latin artists have increasingly become contenders. Just last year, Billboard celebrated the year in Bad […]
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
This week: Zach Bryan puts up undeniable star numbers with his new album release, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus square off with their simultaneous single releases, G-Eazy helps fans flash back to a different time in social media and more.
Zach Bryan Scores a Self-Titled Streaming Takeover
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It’s fitting that, on the Billboard charts, the summer will end with a male country artist once again reaching new commercial heights. Capping off a season of such success stories for Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony, Zach Bryan is poised to debut big with his self-titled new album following its release last Friday (Aug. 25), if early streaming numbers — particularly those for the Kacey Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything” — are any indication.The 16-song Zach Bryan earned a whopping 54.4 million U.S. on-demand streams on its release date, according to Luminate – and while its daily streams dropped a bit over the next few days, the follow-up to last year’s American Heartbreak had cleared nine-digit total streams by the end of Sunday, and had earned nearly 147 million streams by the end of Monday. Meanwhile, “I Remember Everything,” in which Bryan and Musgraves narrate a romance that has slipped away long ago, has been the album’s breakout track on streaming services, earning 18.1 million on-demand plays over its first four days of release.How high can “I Remember Everything” climb? On the Hot 100, Bryan has made it to No. 10 with “Something in the Orange,” and Musgraves has peaked at No. 60 with “Follow Your Arrow,” so both artists could earn new career highs with the same song. And after American Heartbreak peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 last year, Bryan, who announced a slew of stadium and arena dates for 2024 earlier this week, has his sights set on a potential first No. 1 on that chart. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
Miley Leading Selena in Disney Star Single Showdown
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When pop heads noticed that pop stars Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus – once known for their respective starring roles on the ‘00s Disney teen shows Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana – were both releasing new singles on Friday (Aug. 25), it naturally brought out the spirit of competition between the longtime fans. The artists leaned into themselves on social media, with Cyrus reposting a video shared by one fan of her and Gomez trading barbs in an old episode of Hannah Montana where the latter guest starred, along with the message “@selenagomez and I are both dropping our new SINGLEs SOON…. I SAY WE #USEDTOBEYOUNG.” (“Single Soon” and “Used to Be Young” being the names of Gomez’s and Cyrus’ new releases, respectively.)Well, the early returns are in, and so far it appears that Cyrus’ “Young” has the lead on Gomez’s “Single” in both sales and streams. Through its first four days of release, “Young” has racked up over 10.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams and over 15,000 digital song sales, according to Luminate, while “Single” has amassed over 8.1 million streams and nearly 6,400 in sales – leads of 28% and 144%, respectively. (Both should be due for debuts in the top half of the Hot 100 next week, though they will probably be overshadowed somewhat by Bryan and Musgraves’ even more resounding bow.)And they’re not the only two kids-TV-to-adult-pop crossover stars with likely chart triumphs for next week. Ariana Grande, former Nickelodeon Victorious and Sam & Cat actress, has also seen huge spikes for her 2013 debut album Yours Truly upon its 10th anniversary, which she commemorated with a deluxe reissue and a series of commemorative festivities. The album skyrocketed to nearly 3.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams on Friday, up a resounding 946% from the previous Friday (323,000). – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
G-Eazy’s “Tumblr Girls” Rides the TikTok Nostalgia Wave
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“pov: it’s 2014, ur 8 years old and see all the teenage girls with their Starbucks, PINK and striped crop tops and u wish u were a teenager!” Two weeks ago, a TikTok user posted this caption to a clip of themselves grooving out in their bedroom and earned 770,000 likes and 5,000 comments; the soundtrack to that adolescent memory was G-Eazy’s 2014 track “Tumblr Girls,” featuring Christoph Andersson, which has become a sort of nostalgia anthem in recent weeks as TikTok users look back on their mid-2010s memories.
G-Eazy actually isn’t featured in the trending part of the song; instead, it’s the song’s outro – crooned by the rapper’s frequent studio collaborator Andersson, with the lines “Never knew her name, they’re looking all the same to me/ They only chase the fame, there’s no one left to blame but me” – being highlighted in TikTok clips. As more videos of 2014 flashbacks accumulate, “Tumblr Girls” has shot up in overall listens, with weekly streams basically quadrupling from 552,000 the week ending Aug. 10 to 2.25 million two weeks later, according to Luminate.
“Tumblr Girls” never charted upon its debut, but it’s become a fan favorite — so much so that two years ago, G-Eazy released a sequel, “Running Wild (Tumblr Girls 2),” although TikTok has yet to scoop that one up in the same way. – JL
Beyoncé’s “XO” Gets Streams ‘Turned’ Up by Teen TV Sensation
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We’ve written plenty on Billboard about the extensive artistic partnership Amazon Prime’s hit coming-of-age drama The Summer I Turned Pretty has developed with Taylor Swift, having featured over a dozen of Swift’s songs across its two seasons. But the show’s second season proved that it can also deploy the music of another pop icon currently on a globe-conquering world tour: Beyoncé, whose 2014 classic “XO” is featured in the finale’s climactic scene, resolving the long-building love triangle between the characters Belly (Lola Tung) and brothers Jeremiah (Gavin Casalegno) and and Conrad (Christopher Briney).
The scene had an unsurprising impact on viewers, who then proceeded to stream the Beyoncé self-titled ballad en masse. The song jumped from 388,000 official on-demand streams for the tracking week ending Aug. 17 (the day before the finale was released to streaming) to nearly 990,000 streams for the following week – a jump of 155%, according to Luminate. With Summer already having been renewed for a third season, you can bet that pop stars of all shapes and sizes will be angling to get a prime sync on the Prime smash. – AU
Q&A: Christine Rogerson, SVP of Business Operations at Vibee, on What’s Trending Up in Her World
A very hectic season in the live industry is coming to a close. What was Vibee’s focus over the summer?
Vibee spent the summer hosting and engaging with our fans at several festival integrations like Lollapalooza in Chicago, Day Trip in Long Beach, TidalWave in Atlantic City, and BeachIt! in Virginia Beach. We were also in the thick of our planning processes for the monumental U2: UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere run of shows in Las Vegas, Lionel Richie’s Dancing on the Sand in the Bahamas, the inaugural EDSea cruise, and Tiesto’s Chasing Sunsets in Cabo San Lucas.
Can you speak a little bit about the newly announced immersive U2 fan portal and what attendees can expect?
Fans are in for a real treat with the Zoo Station fan portal. The portal was developed by Vibee in collaboration with Gavin Friday, who is U2’s longtime creative director, and with insight and input from the band. Fans will move throughout 12,000 square feet of immersive exhibits over two floors. Key attractions include the incredible Anton Corbijn Gallery featuring photos and videos from the famed photographer as well as the Zoo Station Cinema which is curated by The Edge himself! For those fans who love memorabilia, the U2 Pop-Up Shop will be a must visit with a variety of collectibles, including a capsule collection of limited edition exclusive U2:UV items. It’s truly a special experience for newer or those dedicated fans of U2.
What industry-wide trends did you notice this summer in terms of the evolution of immersive fan experiences?
Right now, fans are still prioritizing entertainment and travel in their personal budgets but, as discretionary dollars become more precious, we have to ensure that we are presenting people with standout experiences that meet or exceed their needs and expectations on multiple levels. People are looking for memory-making opportunities and bucket list moments. As a destination experience company, Vibee is seeking out those ways that we can engage with fans, curate an experience, weave in a story, and connect great music with amazing destinations. The feedback that we received from fans is that they were searching out those unique experiences and shared moments at the events that they were able to attend. We aim to deliver on that.
Fill in the blank: in the next few years, concertgoers will be surprised by ______.
…the ways in which immersive experiences continue to enhance live music events, which is exactly what Vibee is committed to accomplishing through our artist partnerships, thoughtful curation, destination selection, and bespoke inclusions. – JL
The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated Sept. 9), Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ new duet challenges Oliver Anthony Music’s reign at No. 1 – but they’re far from the only ones in the hunt.
Zach Bryan feat. Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything” (Belting Bronco/Warner): It’s nothing but good news for Americana sensation Zach Bryan these days. His self-titled, self-produced new album debuted on Friday (Aug. 25) to dynamite streaming numbers and strong reviews — with a debut atop the Billboard 200 albums chart likely within its sights — and this week, he announced a 2024 arenas-and-stadiums tour featuring veteran luminaries Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow among the opening acts. Next week, he might be on deck for another career first: A Billboard Hot 100 No. 1.
The album’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring the Grammy-beloved Kacey Musgraves, has led the daily charts on both Spotify and Apple Music since its Friday release, and has also climbed into the top five on the iTunes chart. As is typical of brand-new songs – particularly from format-ambiguous artists like Bryan – radio support thus far has been minimal, but with its streaming and sales numbers both so high and so steady, it might not need much airplay help to mount a serious charge for the No. 1 spot.
Even if it doesn’t get there, it should still easily notch a new career high peak for both Bryan (who hit No. 10 earlier this year with “Something in the Orange”) and Musgraves, whose previous best on the Hot 100 was the modest No. 60 success of “Follow Your Arrow” in 2014. (Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart,” co-written by Musgraves and featuring her on backing vocals, hit No. 20 the year before.)
Oliver Anthony Music, “Rich Men North of Richmond” (Self-Released): Oliver Anthony dismissed any notion of one-week-wonderdom this week by sticking atop the Hot 100 for a second frame, while also topping the Streaming Songs chart for the first time. He’s still pulling strong numbers on streaming (albeit not as strong as “Remember”) and still hanging atop the iTunes sales chart – but with numbers less sky-high than the tens of thousands he sold daily in the single’s debut week.
The song’s performance is steady enough that a fall out of the top 20 (like Jason Aldean had with his similarly sales-boosted No. 1 “Try That in a Small Town” a few weeks earlier) is unlikely. But unless “Richmond” can catch a second wind in its virality to turn its sagging numbers around, its reign atop the chart is certainly vulnerable.
Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (River House/Columbia Nashville/Columbia): Will it ever be Luke Combs’ time? The carousel of male country singers atop the Hot 100 this summer has seen Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean and Oliver Anthony Music all take their turns – but Combs has been stuck at No. 2 for much of that time, spending its seventh nonconsecutive frame in the runner-up spot this week. Now, he risks getting lapped a fourth time — as Bryan’s new single is on pace to comfortably lead his in streams, and may pass him in sales as well.
However, Combs is sure to have a major lead in one factor: airplay. His “Fast Car” continues to gain on Pop Airplay, moving 9-8 on the chart this week, while holding strong at No. 2 on the all-format Radio Songs chart; it’s also still top five on Country Airplay, after ruling for five frames. If his song continues to gain there while holding strong enough in streaming and sales, it might be able to fend off the advances of Bryan and Musgraves – or challenge them again the week after.
IN THE MIX
Doja Cat, “Paint the Town Red” (Kemosabe/RCA): Among all the bearded white guys with guitars, pop and rap luminary Doja Cat is elbowing her way into the mix with new hit “Paint the Town Red.” The song jumps from 15-5 on the latest Hot 100, with major gains in streams, airplay and sales – with the former two carrying into this tracking week. If its velocity keeps up, it should be in contention to become Doja’s second No. 1 before too long – possibly as soon as next week, though she still has a sizable gap to close first.
Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer” (Republic): Seemingly all summer, Swifties have awaited their fearless leader making the final move — a music video, a new remix, something totally unexpected — to put “Cruel Summer” over the top on the Hot 100. It hasn’t arrived yet, though the song is still hanging strong at No. 4 on the chart, after reaching No. 3 and continuing to gain in airplay, still in range of the top spot should it get that one final big boost. But Swift’s window may be closing: The top of the Hot 100 is getting more crowded every week, and Labor Day is just around the corner.
Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic): Remember this one? Wallen’s 16-week Hot 100 conqueror has spent two weeks outside of the top spot now, but it’s hanging on at No. 3 on the chart, and still ranks in the top 10 on Digital Song Sales, Streaming Songs and Radio Songs. Plus, it’s spent multiple weeks outside the top spot and then rebounded to the summit twice already in the course of its nearly six-month chart run. Don’t assume it’s dead until you actually see the carcass.
Aerosmith’s latest best-of package, Greatest Hits, debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Hard Rock Albums chart dated Sept. 2.
In the Aug. 18-24 tracking week, Greatest Hits earned 19,000 equivalent album units in the U.S., according to Luminate. That sum includes 10,000 units from album sales. (Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums [TEA] and streaming equivalent albums [SEA]. Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.)
Released Aug. 18, Greatest Hits is the band’s first such compilation that spans Aerosmith’s full discography since its entire catalog was collected at Capitol/UMe. Previously, the group’s catalog was housed at two labels — Sony’s Columbia and Universal’s Geffen. Columbia released the act’s studio albums from its debut in the 1970s through 1982, and again from 1997 through 2012. Geffen released Aerosmith’s studio sets from 1985 through 1993.
The new Greatest Hits is easily confused with the band’s first best-of set, Columbia’s Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits, released in 1980. The latter covered the rockers’ biggest hits to that point, followed by a reissue in 1997 that added more material through 1988.
The newest Greatest Hits is available in multiple iterations, including a standard 10-track edition (on vinyl), an 18-track edition (on CD, vinyl and digital download), a 20-track edition (on vinyl) and a 44-track edition (on CD, vinyl, digital download and streaming services). All versions are combined for tracking and charting purposes. On the 44-track edition, 23 of the band’s 28 Billboard Hot 100 hits are represented, including all eight of its top 10s.
Greatest Hits is Aerosmith’s second Top Hard Rock Albums No. 1 since the chart’s 2007 inception, following Music From Another Dimension, which reigned for a week in November 2012. It’s the band’s final album of new material to date.
The new compilation also starts at Nos. 4 and 7 on Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums, respectively.
On the all-format Billboard 200, Greatest Hits bows at No. 36. It’s Aerosmith’s 31st entry on the ranking, dating to its first, its self-titled debut, which started at No. 190 in October 1973 and peaked at No. 21 in April 1976.
It’s also Aerosmith’s 21st top 40 on the Billboard 200. Of those, Big Ones (1994, No. 6 peak), O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (2002, No. 4) and Devil’s Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith (2006, No. 33) were also best-of compilations.
Concurrently, “Dream On,” one of the 44 songs featured on Greatest Hits, jumps 7-5 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart with 4.2 million official U.S. streams, up 3%, according to Luminate. The song was Aerosmith’s first chart hit, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1976.
YOASOBI’s “Idol” has now logged its 20th week atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100, holding the position consecutively since it first debuted on the chart dated April 19.
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On the latest list dated Aug. 30, the Oshi no Ko opener falls 2-3 for downloads with 9,271 units sold and 18-20 for radio airplay, but still dominates streaming (12,393,052 streams), video views, and karaoke. The duo has been busy with festival performances over the summer and maintains momentum, adding another week to its unprecedented stay at the summit.
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Soaring 39-2 on the Japan Hot 100 is Nogizaka46‘s “Ohitorisama Tengoku,” released Aug. 23. The girl group’s 33rd single sold 713,642 copies in its first week, off to a much better start than the previous one, “Hito wa Yume wo Nido Miru,” which launched with 663,277 copies. The new single was mostly powered by physical sales (No. 1) and comes in at No. 20 for downloads (2,651 units), No. 26 for radio, No. 74 for streaming, and No. 35 for video.
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Three of the four debuts this week on the top 10 are by new groups born from “iCON Z,” the biggest audition in the history of LDH, home of EXILE and many other popular bands. WOLF HOWL HARMONY’s “Sweet Rain” bows at No. 3, THE JET BOY BANGERZ’ “Jettin’” at No. 4, and KID PHENOMENON’s “Wheelie” at No. 5.
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There was a difference of over 1,373 points between “Sweet Rain” and “Jettin’,” with the former selling 73,524 copies to come in at No. 5 for sales while also ruling radio. “Sweet Rain” also came in at No. 32 for downloads (1,804 units), No. 84 for streaming, and No. 45 for video. Meanwhile, “Jettin’” sold the most CDs of the three new bands, launching with 91,271 copies. The track comes in No. 3 for sales, while “Wheelie” sold 84,185 copies to come in at No. 4 for the metric. Both tracks ended up bowing in their respective positions below “Sweet Rain” on the Japan Hot 100 due to lack in points in the digital metrics.
The fourth debut on the top ten this week is the Japanese version of “UNFORGIVEN” by LE SSERAFIM at No. 6, featuring Nile Rodgers and breakout J-pop songstress Ado.
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IMP.’s “CRUISIN’” jumps 53-8 this week after being released digitally Aug. 18. The TOBE act’s debut single is off to a great start, ruling downloads (21,801 units) and coming in at No. 2 for radio and No. 5 for video.
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The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Aug. 21 to 27, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
Billboard has more than 200 different weekly charts in its menu, encompassing numerous genres and formats.
While established artists often compete for a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and Billboard 200 albums ranking, which track the most popular songs and albums of the week, respectively, up-and-coming talents typically start off on genre-specific lists.
Here’s a look at 10 acts who appear on surveys for the first time on the Sept. 2-dated charts.
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Alana Springsteen
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The Nashville-based singer-songwriter is officially a Billboard-charting artist thanks to her debut LP, Twenty Something. Released Aug. 18 on Columbia Records, the 18-track set debuts at No. 17 on the Heatseekers Albums chart with 4,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week, according to Luminate. The collection, which is broken up into three segments (“Messing It Up,” “Figuring It Out” and “Getting It Right”), follows a trio of EPs: her self-titled project in 2019 and the two-part History of Breaking Up in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The album also features collaborations with Chris Stapleton (“Ghost in My Guitar”) and Mitchell Tenpenny (“Goodbye Looks Good on You”; he also co-wrote other tracks on the album).
Earlier this year, Billboard named Springsteen (no relation to labelmate Bruce Springsteen) its January country rookie of the month. “There are songs on here that call out my struggles, areas that I’ve messed it up, which a lot for me has been in the areas of love and relationships. It’s pretty vulnerable,” she said of Twenty Something. “But then there are moments where, if you’re lucky, you start living your purpose and start figuring things out. I think your 20s are a mixture of all of that. I hope that people can just find a little bit of themselves in this record one way or another.”
Springsteen has opened for Tenpenny, Filmore, LANY and Josh Turner, among others. Her first headlining trek, the Twenty Something Tour, is set to kick off this October and run through December.
Paul Russell
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Russell, from Texas and now based in Los Angeles, makes his first Billboard chart appearance thanks to his viral hit “Lil Boo Thang.” The feel-good song, which interpolates “Best of My Love” by the Emotions, debuts at No. 1 on Rap Digital Song Sales and No. 5 on the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart with 9,000 downloads sold, following its official release. It also starts at No. 9 on the Hot 100’s Bubbling Under ranking, while Russell begins at No. 4 on Emerging Artists and No. 89 on the Billboard Artist 100.
Russell first teased a snippet of the song June 28 in a TikTok post that has garnered more than 5 million views and launched over 55,000 creations from new fans who’ve paired it with other clips. He later repurposed the post on Instagram Reels, where it has generated another 10 million views. The virality helped Russell land a deal with Arista Records. “First and foremost, ‘Lil Boo Thang’ is meant to be a good time,” he told Billboard ahead of the full track’s release. “When I wrote it, I was stressed out on a Thursday afternoon, so I just turned on some of the music that makes me happy and imagined that I was celebrating something. I think what makes the song special is the fact that so many of us are ready to just forget about whatever is happening around us and enjoy the good things in life – not just thinking back to good times in the past but creating new ones in the present day.”
“Best of My Love,” written by Maurice White and Al McKay of Earth, Wind & Fire, spent five weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1977. It finished as Billboard’s No. 3 year-end Hot 100 song that year. White and McKay are both credited as co-songwriters on Russell’s song.
Outside of “Lil Boo Thang,” Russell has released two solo LPs: Via Text, with Ruslan, in 2018, and Once in a Dry Season, in 2019.
Duendita
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The New York City-based singer-songwriter from Queens arrives on Billboard’s charts thanks to her featured appearance on Jamila Woods’ “Tiny Garden.” The song, released July 11 on Jagjaguwar/Secretly Group, debuts at No. 37 on Adult Alternative Airplay (up 20% in plays Aug. 18-24). Duendita, aka Candace Camacho, has released one solo LP so far: 2019’s Direct Line to My Creator. In an interview with Pitchfork that year, she said that the project was her college senior thesis for New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music.
Juiicy 2xs
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The rapper reaches Billboard’s charts for the first time with her song “Yeah Yeah” featuring Lola Brooke. Released June 23 on Quiet Giants Ent./Zone 4, the track debuts at No. 39 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (up 18% in plays). The song has been boosted by sped-up and slowed-down versions. Juiicy 2xs, from Cincinnati, has released two solo LPs: Hate. Sex. Love in 2020, and Juiice in 2022.
The Kolors
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The Italian band from Milan notches its first Billboard chart appearance thanks to its song “ITALODISCO.” The cut, released May 5 on Warner Music Italy, debuts at No. 181 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart with 9.3 million streams outside the U.S. Aug. 18-24. It also spends an eighth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Italy Hot 100. The group has forged a successful career in Italy, having charted three albums on the Italy Albums chart, including the 12-week No. 1 Out in 2015. The Kolors have released two additional studio albums: I Want (2014) and You (2017). The group comprises Stash Fiordispino (vocals, guitar, synths), his cousin Alex Fiordispino (drums, percussion) and Dario Iaculli (bass, synths)
Taylor Goyette
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The Nashville-based artist notches his first Billboard chart entry with his viral hit “The Show Goes On.” The song, which he self-released Aug. 18, debuts at No. 39 on the Digital Song Sales chart with 2,000 downloads sold in its opening week. He also starts at No. 49 on Emerging Artists. Goyette boasts more than 75,000 followers on TikTok and had been teasing the song through snippets leading up to its release.
J. Lock
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The rapper logs his first chart appearance thanks to “Money” featuring Finesse2Tymes. The song, released July 7 via Block/Stoner Road Music Empire, opens at No. 40 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay (up 8% in plays). J. Lock, based in Atlanta, has released four additional songs so far: “Graduation Freestyle” in 2021, “On Deck” with Madmarcc, “Vengeance” (both 2022) and “Selfish” with RL (this February).
East Nash Grass
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The Tennessee-based bluegrass troupe arrives on Billboard’s charts for the first time with its new 11-track sophomore album, Last Chance To Win. The set, released Aug. 18 on Mountain Fever Records, debuts at No. 4 on the Bluegrass Albums chart. The group dropped its first album, East Nash Grass, in 2021. The band is comprised of Maddie Denton (fiddle), James Kee (guitar), Gaven Largent (Dobro), Jeff Picker (bass) and Cory Walker (banjo). East Nash Grass performs at bluegrass night (on Mondays) at Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in East Nashville.
Shubh
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The Punjabi rapper based in Brampton, Canada reaches Billboard’s charts with “Cheques.” The song, released in May on his debut seven-track album Still Rollin, enters at No. 197 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart (18.2 million streams, up 34%, outside the U.S. Aug. 18-24). It also rises to No. 3 on the India Songs chart.
ISEGYE IDOL
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The six-member South Korean VTuber (“virtual YouTuber”) group lands on Billboard’s charts for the first time with its song “Kidding.” The track, released Aug. 19, debuts at No. 167 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart (7 million streams outside the U.S.) ISEGYE IDOL is a project owned by Korean Twitch streamer Woowakgood. The group is comprised of members Gosegu, Ine, Jinburger, Jururu, Lilpa and Viichan.